Dear Caleb,

It doesn't seem possible that we are celebrating your last birthday before the "teen" years begin! Watching you grow throughout these preteen years has had its share of challenges, but it's also been such a joy to see you turning into a more mature version of your younger self. You're taller, wiser, and less innocent than you were as a little boy, but much of the core of who you are hasn't changed.

You still have a will that is stronger than most, but we always remind ourselves that if channeled in the right direction, it will serve you well as you grow. You have learned to be a bit more respectful about trying to get your way or prove your point, but it's definitely a work in progress. With that strong will, though, comes a strong sense of right and wrong. You view almost everything with a sense of justice in mind. Sometimes that sense of justice and fairness is geared towards yourself, but not always. You care deeply about making sure that things are right and fair for everyone...even the smallest and (seemingly) most insignificant of things. One moment that stands out from this year is when you came home from school SO distraught about the fact that you shed tears over a bee that your teacher killed in class. You didn't want her to kill it and would've rather caught it and let it go through the window or door, but the majority of your classmates were against that idea. You felt that sadness so deeply, and managed to hold back the tears until you could be excused from class to take a breather, but the tears didn't go unnoticed. Despite your embarrassment, we are proud of you for being true to who you are. We hope that your desire to fight for the voiceless leads you to do BIG things for people (and animals) in the future!

You still have an incredible amount of determination. When you were little, you would fixate on things and focus so much on whatever task you were given. The same is still true today. This helps you greatly at school, where you still don't face too many tasks that leave you challenged and frustrated (something we keep trying to remind you will not always be the case). That determination carries over into your favorite hobbies as well. If given the chance, you'd spend ALL day on the xbox playing your sports games. You fixate on creating teams and designing players and winning games. It is slightly obsessive and definitely something we have to keep you in check with. If it's not sports on the screen that you're playing or watching, it's real-life sports that you're participating in. In a casual game of pick-up football or baseball in the front yard, you are often the one who gets so invested in it that you walk away full of tears or frustration when things don't go your way or people don't take it as seriously as you. On the other hand, you can be the one to set a great example of pushing through and having a good attitude when things don't look so good for your team. Your baseball team last summer was pretty horrible and barely won a game, but you kept a great attitude through it all. You also had the unfortunate experience of playing for a really bad basketball team this winter when you participated in your first season on a school team. Sadly, your coach was rather unqualified for the job and it showed. You came home from a lot of practices and relayed to us the fact that the coach mostly yelled and gave punitive tasks for everyone to do. There was very little actual coaching and learning going on. Regardless, you kept with it and didn't develop much of a negative attitude. You were determined to work hard up until the very end and we were so proud of the good character you demonstrated through it all.

When it comes to character, we are extremely proud of the young man you're becoming. We have heard countless times from other people that they are impressed by your politeness and kindness towards others. At parent-teacher conferences this year, one teacher told us that she greatly appreciates your kind words each day when you walk in and ask her how her day has been going. Granted, she's one of your all-time favorite teachers so far, but it's still so heartwarming to know that you are extending kindness to those around you. You've also become much more aware of how you can help those around you. Whether it's by holding a door for a line of people walking into a building or simply asking if there's anything you can do to help at home, we are impressed by your thoughtfulness and thankful for your caring heart.

Without a doubt, you are growing into an amazing young adult. If the teen years are anything like these past few years, we are going to really enjoy watching you develop into the man that God has designed you to be. You know who you are and you know who you're not. Keep following hard after that and know that we are following behind you with all the support in the world. A kid as awesome as you deserves to be celebrated, so we wish you nothing but the best on this 12th birthday. We know that it wasn't exactly the most desirable of birthdays (thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic), but we promise to properly celebrate YOU when this all clears! We love you and hope you always know that.

Love,
Dad and Mom   

February Fun

We had a fun-filled February! When you pack so much into the shortest month of the year, that month REALLY flies by.

Joel celebrated his birthday with lots of friends at a combined party with a couple other great pals. We rented out the field house at Lincolnway Central just like we did last year. It was a perfect mid-winter energy burner!

 Ti-Ti had a great 40th birthday party with friends and family at a local bowling alley. The place is small, quaint, and very old-school...but was perfect for the occasion!

 We pulled off another successful fun fair at church. The team worked hard and pulled off the event despite some last minute changes in plans. The whole Sturm family was involved with helping and we loved getting to serve together.

 For their birthday presents this year, the kids chose to skip getting presents and took an overnight trip to a waterpark instead. They all had a BLAST and it was especially enjoyable because of friends that joined us.

 We haven't had a super snowy winter, and when it did snow, it was usually WAY too cold to enjoy it. Though Joel was sick during one of the best snowfalls, Caleb and Leah got a chance to sled for an entire afternoon with our neighbors.

 Sickness hit the Sturm home in the worst way....a stomach bug! Joel started with it and passed it on to me. Having the mom go down with a stomach bug makes things a little crazy, but we managed. Thankfully it was a less-than-24-hours type of bug. Chief kept me company all day until the kids got home. Unfortunately, the next person to keep me company on the couch was Caleb, who came home from school and immediately claimed that his stomach hurt as well. It didn't take long for him to succumb to the bug, and it was just about the worst mom-moment when I had to muster up the strength to get over my nausea to take care of my sick kid!

We rounded out the fun of the month with a not-so-fun couple of weeks for Chief. It was finally time for him to get neutered and he was pretty miserable for the first couple of days. After those first drowsy and loopy days, he was back to his normal self, but HATED having to sport the cone-of-shame. He constantly ran into things and, worst of all, couldn't chew on his favorite bones and toys. He (and we) was so glad to finally get to the two week mark when he could run and play like normal! 

Girl Scout Camping

Leah and I had a blast getting to attend another Girl Scout camping weekend. This time it was at a camp right down the road and only for one night. We also had cold, snowy, Winter weather....much different than the beautiful Spring weekend we had at our camping trip last year. Regardless of the cold, we managed to have a great time. Friday night was spent just hanging out. The girls all claimed one side of the cabin, so the moms were forced to stay on the other side. We had plenty of fun adult conversation while the girls giggled for hours on the other side. Leah has lucked out BIG time with this troop. There is such an eclectic mix of kids, but they all get along so well. The added bonus is that the moms are all wonderful too!

After a very horrible night of sleep for all....silly girls up way too late, freezing cold cabins, giggles and silliness before the sun even came up, and horrible well water that made it totally undesirable to even set foot in the bathroom....we all made our way to breakfast. After breakfast, the girls spent the morning doing some really fun team building activities. It was fun to watch them work together to overcome different challenges and obstacles. After the team building, we had lunch and then went for a short hike due to the frigid temps.

Though it was a short trip and we came home much more exhausted than we would've liked, it was still such a great experience and we will both cherish the memories for many years to come!

Basketball

Since mid-October, when Caleb tried out for the basketball team at his school, until late February, when Nyla and the youngest two wrapped up their seasons, our family spent COUNTLESS hours watching and playing basketball! 

Caleb played for his 6th grade team at Bentley. They had a really rough start to their season, but eventually looked a little bit more like a basketball team by the end. Most of their struggles could be chalked up to a coach that seemed altogether clueless about how to coach 6th grade basketball. Regardless, it was fun to watch him excited about his first team sport for school.

Leah and Joel both played in their first season of park district basketball. They had practice one night a week and one game a week on Sundays. Both kids had a lot of fun and seemed to actually have some sort of talent out on the court! Tyler did a great job of helping to coach Leah's team. It's always a shift for him to coach girls, but he really does a wonderful job!

One of the most enjoyable teams to watch all season was Nyla's high school team. They had a fiery coach, who made them work hard and win. They had some close games....a few that got away from them against really great teams, but also had some really easy wins along the way. It was enjoyable to watch these very talented girls, and especially fun to see Nyla in her element. She is an amazing team player, who works hard when she's on the court, but also stays focused and supportive when she isn't in the game.

It was a busy few months, but we wouldn't trade a moment of it. Watching our kids learn to love sports and enjoy being active is such a joy. 

PS....I don't know how I only managed to get a couple pictures throughout all of these games! I didn't get a single picture of the younger three. Mom fail!

Dear Joel,

Your birthdays always seem to be the most bittersweet, because they're a reminder of how quickly our kids just keep growing. Being the "baby" of the family, there are definitely a lot of phases that you have just skipped right over in an attempt to keep up with the pace of everyone else. And, even though you often wish you were older, your age is always a great reminder to the rest of us that you are still just a little boy! That number keeps creeping up higher and higher, though, and your days of being little are numbered.

This year, this number, this is the golden age! Eight is just so fun. You're still filled with wonder and innocence, but you are capable of so much. You have a great sense of independence, but still so much love for those who love you. You've been a favorite to our newest family member...Nyla. It gets the other two a bit jealous, but it's been just what you need to feel like you aren't just that annoying little brother that the other two can sometimes label you as. When you're down in the dumps or having a meltdown, Nyla is the best at cheering you up and making you snap out of it. She seems to just "get" you and we love that about your relationship!

You've also gained a new furry family member this year and he is definitely one of your favorite family members. You wake up every single morning and look for him first. You can't possibly go to bed at night without finding him and giving him a big hug. You definitely have a heart for animals and we love that this dog will be the buddy you have by your side for all the ups and downs of childhood, adolescence, and the dreaded teen years.

Indeed, our family has had some big changes this year, but like you've always done, you just roll with it. Not much changes you. You're still the goofball that wants to make everyone laugh. You're the sensitive one who feels things in big ways. When you're sad or frustrated or angry, the whole world is going to know about it. At the same time, when someone else is feeling down, you're the first to try to help ease their pain. You recognize when people need you and you step in to help however you can. You are the first one to offer a hug or a helping hand. And when you do offer to help, you won't give up. When our basement flooded this year, you were Dad's right-hand man with so many of the tasks. When there is work to be done in the yard, you'll be out there until the sun goes down trying to get the task done. You are the best little shadow and we love how you curiously follow us everywhere just to learn more about the world around you. You're always asking questions and thinking. You are a problem solver and have an amazingly creative mind. At the beginning of the year, when your teacher asked you what you wanted to be when you grow up, you said "an electrical engineer".....so that you could create a robot to pick up your toys! 

When it comes to school, you have definitely found a way to make your teachers fall in love with you. You rounded out your year in first grade having a wonderful year and leaving behind a teacher that you adored. She couldn't say enough great things about you. You're doing the same in second grade. We were shocked to learn at conferences that your teacher thinks you're one of the nicest kids and she loves that you are liked by everyone...not because you're the "cool" kid or the one that gets attention for bad things...but because you're nice and friendly to everyone. You do have that in you, and we're glad you take that approach at school, but we sure wish you displayed that just a bit more with your siblings!

Your siblings are definitely your best friends and worst enemies. You are the best one about spending time equally with them all. You love to follow Caleb around wherever he goes. You try desperately to keep up with him, but that usually leads to tears and frustration. There are Pokemon battles that end in wrestling matches, football games outside that end in tears, and xbox playing that ends in yelling. However, you just adore him so much that you don't let the bad stuff keep you from trying to play again in the future. Leah is the one that you chase around and play with no matter what kinds of crazy things she wants you to do....gymnastics in the basement, school in her room, building forts, painting your nails pink....the list goes on and on. It usually lasts for quite awhile before you ditch her to play with Caleb and then everything ends in tears and yelling over who is responsible for cleaning up the massive messes that you make together. That's where Nyla often steps in as your mediator and reminds you all to stop fighting with one another. She has such a way of calming all three of you down and getting you to cooperate. 

It's hard to not ramble on and on about all that makes you who you are. Perhaps it's the fact that you're the youngest, but it seems like you are the one who we spend more time slowing down and savoring the moments with. So much joy comes from soaking in the moments with you, because we know how quickly you will grow up. So, for now, we will take all those morning snuggles and all those goodnight kisses and all those tear filled moments of frustration that are cured with a big hug. We love that you're our baby and you let us embrace the magic of your wonder and innocence. Please hold onto that for as long as you possibly can. May this year be filled with all of the magic and wonder that makes you such an amazing boy. You make this world a better place and we pray that will always be true of who you are. We don't know what we'd do without our Joel and we are so thankful that God gave us the task of being your parents.

Love,
Daddy and Mommy 

Happy Birthday Chief!

Happy first birthday to our favorite dog in the whole world! We are so lucky to have this guy in our family. Our lives are full of so much more joy and smiles because of him. We love everything about his wonderful personality. He is cuddly, loving, sweet, and just a tiny bit sassy (especially when there is mud in the backyard or playdates with his buddy Ozzie). 

 

Lake Lawn 2020

We had another wonderful, memorable trip to Lake Lawn Resort over the MLK holiday weekend. Sadly, Nyla had a basketball tournament and couldn't join us. We managed to have fun without her though. The kids had a blast going sledding, swimming, walking around the resort, hanging out in the kids area, making a gingerbread house and train, playing tons of games, and eating lots of yummy food. We truly look forward to this vacation every year and are thankful the tradition has continued!